Lens.



BSOHQSZ n PATBNTBD ocT.1o,1f9os. "w. cH-Uncnunt LENS.

nrmonxolinnn noms. um.

.To all whom it may concern: Y

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM CHURCHIIL, citi7en of the United States, residing at New Britain, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented new and useful 1m provementsin Lenses, of which the follow-v ing is a specification. v

This invention vrelates to lenses of the Fresnel type, such as are employed more particularly in'connection with'railroad signal lamps and lanterns and with marine signal-lamps, whereby light-'rays that have hitherto been lost by dispersion are caused to bend or be so v refracted as to enter the beam of light projec'ted by the lens and greatly increase the luminosity'and penetrative power of the light.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is A a diagrammatic view of a semaphore-lens of 5- approximately a cylindrical bundle or beam `out toward the horizon.

the usual type, showing also a burner-dame and rays of light emanating therefrom and passing through the lens. Fig. -2 is a similar view of a lens made in accordance with my' improved method in connection with a llame and lines indicating rays of light. Fig. 3 isv a view of a cylindrical lens, such as is used in marine service.

Similar reference characters indicate similarparts in the respective figures.

ln order to render effective the light from a kerosene-lamp or other source of artificial illumination intended to serve as a signal, as is customary, for example, in railway and marine service, andvat a greater range than is possible without some such device, it is customary to make use of a lens so constructed in accordance with thelaws of optics as to bend a certain proportion of the light-rays emanated into a parallel bundle. In the type of Fresnel lens generally employed in the marine service the bending takes place onlyin such a way as to produce a fan of light'thrown Ina railroad-Serna phore the bending of the rays is e'ected both as in the case ofthe marine Fresnel and also along a straight line, sothatthe result is to produce of parallel rays having a cross-section of the size of the lens employed. In designing such lenses allowance is ordinarily made for the spherical aberration found in all lenses byal- 'tering the curvature of one or both faces of y more spherical aberration than those passing `maman CHURCHILL oF specificati or um nasal. .-appnuan ma aman: 5.1904. ma 15.281.505. g

NEW'BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT; assIGNoRfTo. ,OORNING G LAss WORKS. onooamnennw'yona.. .y -f

nearer the center. -The alteration referredto 55 consists in dividing 'the surface of the lens into zones and reducing the curvature of each -zone progressivelyv from'the center tothe outer edge of the'lens. The precise curvatures necessary depend, of course, upon the 6o laws governing the` refraction of light passing through a lens, and the curvatures vary, as is well known, according to the refractive index of the glass used .andwith the. focal distance desiredfor the lens. In designing such lenses heretofore :t has been customary to focus all parts ofthe lens as closely as possible to a theoretical point of light estimated to be situated in the center of the flame' orother i source of illuminaticm;V

A lens which focuses in all parts moet closely to such theoretical point is-most nearly perfect for use in an optical instrument, such as a microscope or a telescope` or for photographic purposes, and it has been supposed, apparently, that the same method would give the best results when applied to lenses intended 'manana des. 1o, isos. l

to throw light serving as a signal in acertain l path. There are, however, certain disadvantages in this method when used for railroad and 3 vmarine purposes. In the first place,alarge proportion of the area of the flame or other source of illumination employed is totally noneective. As is well known in accordance with the law of optics, assuming that a certain point of 'the lens is focused at the center of the flame or very -close to that-point opposite the light which that portion of the lens is receiving from the center of the dame, it is also atthe same time receiving rays from all other luminous'pointsA in the flame. Only thelightwhich comes from the point in the flame tovwhich the before-mentioned point in the lens is I focused will be thrown in a preciSaly-parallelA path-that is to say, a path parallel to the axis of the lens; but light impinging upon the lens-from other parts ofthe flame ata less acute angle than the ray which is thrown parallel is bent in more or less closely to the axis of the lens, according as the angle at II which itimpi'nges upon thesurface of thelens v is farther from or nearerto the center of the flame, and, furthermore, light-rays impinging upon the same point of the lens at an an Y farther from or nearer to the center ofthe thrown at ap angle inside of the parallel ray,

although focusing at some point more or less near to the lens, will be, or a large proportion of it-at least, effective at considerable distances or as longas it remains within the light-beam.

When the Haine to be placed behind the lens is relatively large, it is advisable to focus the central zone of the lens more closely to the center of the "flame than in thel case of the other zones-L e.. those more distant Vfrom the center.

Furthermore, all lenses pressed in molds, as is customary in the manufacture of railwaysemaphores and Fresnel lenses for marine service, tc., are more or less liable to slight variation due to inequalities in the contraction of the glass upon cooling. such as a slight attening of the curvature at any point, (and v the defect involved is nearly always ailatten- 'ing rather than an increase of curvature.)

which inequality will .throw the focus for that particular point back more or less from the center of the flame. The result of this defeet will be that theadjustmcnt between iiame and lens will be more or les seriously de-V ranged, and any attening of curvature whatsoever will result in some loss of light.

To overcome the defects arisingfrom previous methods of constructing and focusing lenses of the type hereinabove described, the present method has been devised, wherein instead of focusing to a point. as has hereto fore been the custom` it has been assumed that a certain area of the ame is equally effective for purposes of illumination, the size of such area' being dependent upon the size of fiamc available. The lens is then formed in such a way as to bring the foci for the different parts of each zone of the lens at various distances inside the plane of the illuminant-that is to say, between the dame and the lens. Now although there may be no light whatsoever at the theoretical focal point a i line prolonged through this point from any given point upon the lens, provided it strikes the ame within the luminous area hereinbeproximately, by focusing one point--say aupon the center of the iiame and thereafter bringing the foci for other points close to the center. Thus if thepoint in zone 1, Fig. 1, is focused at the center O of the ame M, the foci for the points and c in the same zone will be close to-the same center. The same may be said for the other zones. l

In my improved method of construction instead of designing the curvatures of each zone so that the various points of anch zone focus as closely as possible to the center of the flame, the outer edge'of eac-h zone is focused upon a point in the iiame situated a certain distance on the side of the axis opposite the side upon which the point of such zone is located. This is illustrated in Fig. 2. in which it will be seen that the points d d', &c., on 4 the outer edge of the zones 1 1, &c., are fo'- cused at different points on the axis A B, i

crossing which they converge on the luminous surface at D` a point outside the center O of the flame. 1n a circular lens, such as is rep' resented-in thc diagram, the points D will describe a circular area with O as its centcxnf The diameter of the luminous circular area will of course depend upon the size of the flame. 1f the luminous surface is large,

thdistance between the center O and the point D will be correspondingly increased. The entireluminous surface within the circular area will be available for illumination` as all the raysemanating therefrom will form less acute angles than the rays passing through' the point D, and on emerging from the lens they willbe bent more or less toward the axis A B. (See dotted lines :v y z.) By giving the correct curvature to the several zones relative to the areaof the illuininating-surface, practically all the light-.rays passing through the lens will be parallel or convergent. Very few will diverge and be lost.

In the old method of constructing lenses, where the focus is at the .center of the flame, all light-rays emanating from the luminous surface between its center and outer edge and passing across the axis of the lens are lost, inasmuch as they diverge from the axis, This is clearly shown in Fig. 1, where a lightray from the pointeo the luminous surface crosses the axis A B to the point a' on the zone l and thence through the lens in the path m' e',

It is obvious, therefore, that light-rays erna.l

nating from one half of the flame or luminous surface will impinge upon any point of the lens at a more acute angle than that formed by rays emanating from the focus, and hence cause these rays to diverge.

Among the advantages gained by the'use of my improved lens may be mentioned that l a larger number of rays are thrown through the lens at any given point at an effective angle-that is to say, an angle which will insure their projection along the direction of the parallel beam-,than is possiblel in previous methods of designing. This will be evident fsou'zce i 3 by reference to what has'bee said regarding the difference between the amount of luminous area involved in the two constructions shown by Figs. 1 and 2, respectively. Slight imperfections in the manufacture of the lens,

as in contraction and flattening of curvature at any given point,are not so liable to impair the eiiiciency of theY lensf as has heretofore been the case, althoughat any given point.

xo where the curvature may become attened therejs still a certain amount of leeway, so to speak.I In other words, a certain amount of fiattening can take place and yet not throw the actual focus of any given point behind the ^center of the fiame, for as the lens is con- A structed the focus is somewhat in front of the ame. According as the dame placed behind the lens is large or small more or less advantage may be taken of this principle. 1f the zo flame employed he a large one` the effect of Y the change will he more apparent. It has been found that in cases where this principle has been applied to the design of various lenses the result has been an increase of efficiency '2 5 of the lens varying from twenty to thirty per cent.,and this eiicien'cy has been maintained not simply within close range of the lens, but

at long distances, increasing the range of a light directly in proportion to the increase in 3o the intensity of the beam thrown. This'is partly due to the increased effective luminous area of the fiarne therein at any given point upon the lens and partly to the fact that the slight imperfections incident to manufacture are, under my inventiommuch lessdetrimental than formerly.

Under my invention the rays divergent on either side of the beam give to the signal a certain amount of spread and enable it to cover 4o an angleof a fewdegrees upon each side of the axis. This is highly important in a railway-semaphore because the level of the engineers eye is very seldom that of the signal,

and it is therefore necessary that the signal -should have a slight spread. In lenses heres I tofore designed much light has been lost4 byA such spreading out of the rays close to the lens. In my lens they are rendered effective at a distance just where they are most needed.

The principles of construction herein de 5 upon a different point in the axis of the lens, 6 A

substantially as set forth. 2. A lens of the character described having a series of zones, each element of which is fo cused upon a different point in the axis of the lens and in front of a focal plane, substantially as set forth. 3. A lens of the character 4described having* a series of zones. each element of which is focused upon a different point in the axis of the lens, the focal lines of said zones when pro- 7 jected across said axis converging on a definite plane or surface parallel to the plane or surfacebf the lens, substantially as set forth.

4. A lcnsin which the various parts or zones are focused upon various pointslof a definite l luminous areakwhereby a maximum proper tion of the light-is thrown in a beam of par-` allel rays from the lens in the direction of its axis, andra maximum of the'remaniug rays are refracted convergent'ly within the parallel 8O beam, substantially as set forth. In testimonywhereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM' CHURCHILLA Witnesses: Gnoaen H. HOWARD, C. B. Bum.. 

